So I noticed my boy likes to hang around this one spot in the front of his tank. Then he would look tired and stick himself behing the top of his heater. This got my worried mind racing for a safer solution.

Yep... I fell for yet another impluse buy and purchased the "Zoo Med Betta Leaf Hammock".

I wish I woulda looked it up before I bought it... eh. Lots of bad reviews!! Possible guttings? Rust? Sweet.

But... I like to make my own opinions. So, after lots of looking over and the 'pantyhose test', I put it in Findlays tank.

Three words - he loves it.

I feel okay about it. I really don't see how a fish could be gutted by this product, unless the wire is somehow exposed... which the leaf would have to be ripped. The rust issue, I can understand. There is a tiiiiiny hole where the wire has to be inserted. I'm thinking of dabbing a bit of water sealant over the hole. Problem solved? We'll see.

So for now, I will keep my eye on him and his leaf hammock... and by that I mean watch him like a hawk! If it makes him happy, I'm happy... but I don't want to hurt him.

I dont but I have been thinking about getting this and or the floating log, my view is if i purchase this i would just check it everyday make sure its looking good, the issues i have heard is the wire rusting through the leaf and gutting the fish so i think checking it would be ok. im not sure though

I researched these hammocks, too. I found what you did: that while bettas love them, they can be injured or killed by the wire that runs through it. Even if the wire isn't sticking out, it could become so over time.

A member here had one kill her fish - the wire gutted it. No joke, scary stuff :(

However, where there's a will, there's a way! Especially if aquarium sealant is involved. I used it to "baby proof" my hammock as it were. Basically I gooed it over the vein on the underside where the wire is and anywhere else that had the remotest chance of wearing through.

For good measure I also used sealant to attach the leaf to the cup because I read it had an annoying habit of falling out.

After the sealant cured, I gave the whole thing a good rinse and stuck it in Flambé's tank.

Well let me tell you, he LOVES the thing. He likes to rest on the stem where it meets the suction cup (good thing I glued it!). He also likes swimming around it. I caught him doing a double loop de loop around it the other day

Anyways, while I'm fairly confident that I've made the leaf as safe as I can, I'm still checking it every water change to make sure the sealant is holding up.

EDIT: Of course you can always make your own wire-free hammock with aquarium sealant, suction cup and an aquarium safe silk leaf. I had the sealant on hand and the hammock was on sale so that's why I spent the time I did on it.

EDIT: Of course you can always make your own wire-free hammock with aquarium sealant, suction cup and an aquarium safe silk leaf. I had the sealant on hand and the hammock was on sale so that's why I spent the time I did on it.

What a good idea! I might have to try that, if just to give the hammock a different look... and make me feel a little better.

i threw betta bulbs into my tanks .. the leafs grow out to look like leaf hammocks .. any my betta sleeps on them .. and no worries for rust ..

@maggielynn .. i don't know about anyeone else but i have 2 of those floating betta logs made by zoo med .. and both of them has had paint come off every time i take them out to wash them .. more paint comes off .. till one day i got mad and decided to scrub all the paint off of it .. same thing happened to my bf's betta log too ..

i don't know if it's harmful or not .. but it doesn't seem like it left any paint in the tanks .. it just came off when i took them out of the tank to rinse .. and both of my bettas that have that log are fine and not sick .. but just a warning to anyone that get's that log .. keep an eye on it .. just incase ^_^